A Shoulder To Cry On
by Thorongil82
Summary: The band of heroes have managed to stop Professor Callaghan, though the damage he sought to deal came to pass regardless. However, in the dying moments of the battle, when all seemed finished, one hero was lost to the spaceless void, sacrificing himself to save two more. In the aftermath to follow how will they be able to cope with the sorrow, to soothe a young boy's broken spirit?


**A/N: Hey there, all. For those of you who are unfamiliar with me, which will probably be most people reading this, my name is Thorongil82. I am the leader of a writing group on here called the G.M.A.D. We tend to focus mainly on How To Train Your Dragon, Rise of the Guardians, Brave and Tangled (otherwise known as the Big Four), but, as this should show, we are not limited to those fandoms. The only other thing I will mention now is that if you wish to join, or if you want some more information, feel free to send me a PM or leave a question in the reviews. I will get back to you.**

 **I'll let you guys get to the story shortly, but there are a couple of things I'll need to point out. Firstly, no. You aren't imagining things if you've looked at the word count. I seriously do write chapters this long. This is the largest one I've written so far (11,200 words without the AN's). Just my writing style. Secondly, while this is a HiroGo fic as the summary should show via the pairing, this isn't going to be one where they get together and be all lovey dovey. Not saying there's anything wrong with those fics, but this is going to be more of a developmental one. The spark that gets things rolling as opposed to the culmination of their feelings.**

 **Anyway, now that that's out of the way, please enjoy the chapter.**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Big Hero 6. This franchise is owned by Disney**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Too Much To Handle Alone**

Downtown San Fransokyo has been sent into chaos.

The space surrounding what remained of the newly built Krei Tech Industries Head Quarters lay in total ruin. The building, costing Alistair Krei billions of dollars, had effectively been flattened as most of the complex had been torn asunder from the foundations. Earlier that day, there stood a newly constructed architectural masterpiece. The building curved round in a horseshoe shape, with two outer buildings sharing the curve with the appearance of a hidden section being revealed by compartments sliding out. Within the centre courtyard stood two more buildings for the complex. The smaller, cylindrical in shape with a round fountain courtyard on top, a big cerulean banner with the Krei Tech Industries logo printed onto the white wall. The larger, a structural combination of a hemisphere and a teardrop, the white steel-reinforced concrete walls arching over, while within the hemispherical cutting, a small courtyard and curved windows leading all the way to the top.

That industrial complex, the new Krei Tech Industries, no longer stood. Lying in its wake was rubble, debris and ruin. Crushed, cracked and destroyed concrete, both reinforced and otherwise, steel and iron that had been warped, bent and snapped, shards of glass, and broken timber. That was what remained of the multi-billion dollar structure. Scattered around were a few chips of crimson red carbon fibre armour, while around the entirety of the devastation are what remains of the microbots used by Yokai to capture Alistair Krei, hoist up and piece together the segments of the unstable teleporter that tore apart and sucked up the majority of the pristine headquarters, and fight off those who chose to oppose him and his thirst for revenge. Luckily for San Fransokyo, six heroes stood up against Yokai and, working together with each other and their enhanced abilities, managed to defeat the vindictive villain before the true extent of his plans could be reached.

Standing atop the San Fransokyo Tribune, looking down on the chaos and confusion, stood five of those six heroes. Each looked on with a firm yet saddened expression as the police and paramedic officers below rushed to fully secure the area, aiding anyone who had been hurt by the sudden and sporadic attack by Yokai, revealed to be one Professor Robert Callaghan.

One wore a combat suit with a violet skirt, high heeled boots and a candy red chest piece, along with a dark magenta shaded thermal tech suit underneath and a violet and orange styled helmet that let her long blonde hair out the back. Another wore a lime and wasabi green combination chest piece, shoulder guards and gauntlets, with indigo blue trousers, black boots, a black thermal suit and green and red visor and headset combination. The third was completely encased in a three eyed Kaiju styled combat suit, comprised of cobalt and fire orange scale like protection, clawed feet and hands, flaming flares coming out of his arms, and a spiked tail. The fourth had an aerodynamically designed combat suit, with smooth, curved, butter yellow chest piece, shoulder and arm guards, gauntlets, and high boots, and a streamline black, grey and red ringed thermal suit. Her helmet curved in and jutted out towards the back on a smooth angle, while four yellow and orange magnetic levitation discs were clipped to her back. The fifth, and last remaining, wore an indigo chest piece, knee pads and a helmet with orange stripes. He also had on a black thermal suit with two orange stripes going down each arm, black trousers and sneakers, and large, thick, black gloves. Two females, two men and one boy.

These were the group of heroes that had just saved not only a high profile technological mastermind, but also prevented the possible destruction of a vast quantity of San Fransokyo and rescued Abigail Callaghan, the daughter of Professor Callaghan who was thought to be lost forever by all who knew the reason for her disappearance, from the brink at the last second, retrieving her from within the teleportation special terrain. However, in doing so, the last member of the band of heroes sacrificed himself in order to get both Abigail and his maker's brother, Hiro Hamada, to safety. Once out, and the news that the last member, the healthcare robot Baymax, did not make it back out of the portal, they had quickly made sure that Abigail was safe before making themselves scarce, not wanting to be found, questioned, and not wanting their identities to be revealed to the world.

From above the newspaper firm, they watched as the police arrested Professor Callaghan and put him in the back of a police car, ready to be driven off to the police station. They watched as police, paramedics and firemen freed Abigail from the confines of her pod, looking on as she finally awoke from her hypersleep state before being stretchered on a gurney into an ambulance, one that sped her off to the hospital for treatment. From their vantage point, they saw Alistair Krei and the few of his employees that had remained in the proximity giving reports, and they all hoped that Krei would keep their identities a secret.

The boy in purple, Hiro Hamada, was the first to turn around and start walking away. He was soon followed by both of the girls, Honey Lemon and GoGo Tomago, with the other two males, Fred Lee and Wasabi No-Ginger, bringing up the rear. All, despite being able to save the day, look downcast, their lost friend and his sacrifice still weighing heavy on their mind. As they move along the rooftop, Wasabi, the green armoured hero, bent down and picked up the last remaining piece of the healthcare robot, Baymax, the sixth hero of the group.

"So, what do we do now?" Wasabi sorrowfully questioned, clutching in his arms the closed rocket fist projectile that Baymax fired to push the pod out of the teleportation realm, saving both Hiro and Abigail. The group had retrieved the fist that had been locked into the thruster of the pod before they made their escape, not wanting it to be left behind.

"We need to stay low for the moment," GoGo murmured solemnly, sliding back the visor on her yellow helmet to place a ball of pink strawberry bubblegum in her mouth. "Hide out for the rest of the day, maybe tomorrow as well."

"In that case, should we go to Freddie's again?" Honey queried, looking unsurely at her friends with a hand timidly closed in front of her.

"Hey, yeah. That's a great idea!" Fred replied, flipping the top of his costume off and revealing his proper face. "I'll give Heathcliff a call now and get him to pick us up in the family chopper."

Fred started walking off in a different direction, taking an arm out of the corresponding arm of the suit and grabbing his phone out of his pocket. He starts dialling the number while the others just look at him. When he looks back and gives them a thumbs up, or a 'claw's up in his case, they give a little nod back. Hiro then walks away from the group, sitting down on the edge of the newspaper firm with his legs dangling over the edge. While Fred hadn't noticed due to him still conversing with Heathcliff, Wasabi, GoGo and Honey all watch him sadly as the young teenager does so. They could easily tell from his slumped form that he was taking the loss of Baymax pretty hard.

"Hiro …" Honey said softly, hesitating as she considered whether or not to go up to him. When she does make a step forward, GoGo puts a hand on her shoulder. Honey looks down to see GoGo giving her a little shake of her head.

"Maybe later," the speedster explains simply, her eyes moving from Honey to Hiro with sadness. "Let him deal with it himself first."

"Didn't Baymax say that people dealing with personal loss needed contact with friends and loved ones?" Wasabi inquired. "Shouldn't that be what we do now?"

"There are some things a person needs to understand on their own before they let others in," GoGo answered, turning her head to the floor. "If he's struggling later, then we help."

"But, GoGo-" Honey started, her friend's hand dropping off of her shoulder.

"Besides," she continued, cutting off Honey Lemon and turning away from both her and Wasabi, "I don't think any of us really understand what just happened."

Wasabi and Honey look at each other with a mixture of gloom and uncertainty before both look at the speedster, her posture slouched over and smaller than usual. It was unusual for her to be showing this much concern over an incident, even in one such as this.

"Good news, guys!" Fred spoke surprisingly cheerfully as he came back over to them. "Heathcliff is on his way and he'll be here shor …"

The laid-back one of the group looks at both Honey Lemon and Wasabi, noticing neither of them had reacted to what he had just said.

"Uh … what's wrong?"

Fred looks in the direction they both are and notices GoGo in her state as she starts walking away from them, before looking to his right and seeing Hiro sitting dejectedly on the edge of the building.

"Oh, right …"

They all walk off into their own section of the rooftop, though making sure none of them are near the corner closest to the crime scene, knowing full well what could happen if they were to be seen. Wasabi walks over to the corner opposite the one overlooking the crime scene and sits down, his lower back propped up against the ledge. The cautious nerd closes his eyes and, sliding his visor up over his hair, holds his head in his hands. Honey walks over to the corner to the right of Wasabi, putting Hiro between the two. She looks glumly in the direction of the robotics prodigy before taking her helmet off and running her hands through her long blonde hair, letting out a sad sigh as her thoughts drifted off to Baymax, Hiro and Tadashi. Fred stayed roughly around the middle, staying quiet and scratching his head as he looked to the skies, keeping an eye out for his family's butler and the family chopper.

GoGo wandered over to the corner opposite Honey and sat down on the ledge, her arms resting on her knees and propping up her otherwise drooped body. She tries to keep her head down while she chews her bubblegum, but her gaze keeps making its way over to Hiro. Her brown eyes watch him with a rare softness and misery, an unusual wave of anxiety washing over her as she takes in the boy genius.

' _I want to help you, Hiro …'_ she brooded, blowing out a pink bubble and popping it in her mouth. _'I just don't know how …'_

GoGo takes off her helmet and holds it in her hands, spinning it around slowly till she was looking at the side of it. Within, she could see her own reflection gazing back at her. Her doleful reflection …

 _'I don't know how to make sure you don't go back into the depression you had when Ta … when Tadashi died … Baymax was there to bring you out of it then. And now …'_

With a frustrated growl, caused by both the conflicting confusion within her and her annoyance at the knowledge she was miserable through her own reflection, she chucked her helmet down onto the rooftop, the streamline helmet clattering away from her. Gritting her teeth and clenching her eyes shut, GoGo forces her head into her hands, her fingers running through her raven hair with violet highlights.

' _… now he's gone too. Grr! Why does this have to be so hard?!'_

While the rest of the group rested in their mournful, gloomy conditions, waiting for Heathcliff to arrive, Hiro sat unmoving over the edge of the San Fransokyo Tribune. The depression that he barely managed to quell when his brother had died was rising up again, and this time the robot who had managed to snap him out of his despondency before was no longer around to bring him fighting back a second time around. The overwhelming sadness that welled up threatened to bring him to tears, but he fought them back down for now, clenching his eyes shut for a few seconds.

He did not want to cry, not now. Not in front of his friends.

Hiro had always seen tears as a sign of weakness, which is why he would keep most of his negative feelings bottled up and why he didn't cry much at all when Tadashi passed away. But that also meant that when things got too great for him to handle, his emotions would boil over and eventually explode, just like when they were out at the 'quarantined' island.

 _'There had to have been a way …'_ Hiro reflected, throwing blame onto himself for what happened. _'There must have been a way for all three of us to have escaped. There has to have been … there's always got to be a solution! There has to have been a way …'_

After a few minutes, the sound of a helicopter approaching fell on their ears. One by one, they looked up to the sky and spotted one coming through the city towards them. Not one with any police or news station markings.

"Heathcliff's here!" Fred shouted, jumping up and down and waving his arms around. "Everyone! Heathcliff is here!"

"We know!" Wasabi snapped back, glaring at Fred with irritation in his eyes. "We can hear it just as well as you can!"

"Enough, guys," Honey commented as Fred's expression faltered. "Fighting amongst each other now isn't going to help."

Both Fred and Wasabi look at one another with some guilt before both looking back at Honey Lemon and nodding. They all go back to watching as Heathcliff flies over to the building they are on, the helicopter he is flying coloured in a ruby red with white diagonal stripes angled away from the front. The chopper hovers over them before gently touching down in the middle of the rooftop, Fred moving out of the way to give Heathcliff room to land.

As soon as the chopper touches down, Wasabi and Fred both make their way inside. Wasabi, carrying Baymax's fist, enters the helicopter, taking one of the cream coloured leather seats behind Heathcliff and lays the fist down between his chair and the soon-to-be occupied chair in the cockpit. Fred enters the cockpit and sits next to Heathcliff, putting on the headset hanging in front of the seat.

"Thanks, Heathcliff."

GoGo stands up and walks over to collect her recently discarded helmet, before proceeding to the helicopter, entering and taking one of the back two seats. She sits down and buckles herself in, resting her helmet on her lap. Honey Lemon, having put her helmet back over her head, walks over to Hiro and places a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his gloom momentarily.

"It's time to go, Hiro," she voices softly, her wide caring green eyes looking down into his shimmering brown, crestfallen eyes.

With a solemn nod, he slowly gets up and walks with Honey over to the chopper. Hiro plods into the back and sits beside GoGo , while Honey Lemon takes the seat next to Wasabi, directly behind Heathcliff, shutting the door behind her. Once Hiro buckles in, he curls up into a ball, bringing his knees up and wrapping his arms around them, before finally resting his head on his knees and clenching his eyes shut. As GoGo notices, she rests a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small caring smile when he looked over at her, the concern for him filling her eyes. His stomach twisting as he looked at GoGo gently smiling at him, quietly telling him that it would all be alright, Hiro couldn't help but turn away as he tried to turn his thoughts away from GoGo and back to his attempts to not tear up.

' _I can't cry now … I can't cry now …'_ he repeated to himself, shutting his eyes tightly. ' _I can't be weak now … Why does it have to be GoGo? Why is it Gogo? She doesn't … Why? Why is she going to make me cry?'_

GoGo, worried by the silence Hiro just gave her in turning away, barely even responding to her attempt to sooth him, and confused by the concern building in her and making her heart knot up, reached the hand resting on his shoulder out and wrapped it around his other shoulder, pulling him closer to her. She then rested her head up against his and closed her eyes, rubbing his shoulder gently while putting her other hand on his near shoulder.

With GoGo making her move and bringing him closer to her, nearly hugging him like she did back in his garage after he had lost control, the sorrow built up within Hiro seemed to break him just a little, as silent tears began to flow down his cheeks. The fourteen year old prodigy fought hard with himself to stop, but as he gritted his teeth he still couldn't keep all the tears in. And while GoGo couldn't hear him weeping, she could feel his body shaking with her arms around him and her head up against his. She could feel his body shaking as the few tears that escaped ran down his face, leaving small streams where the drops had made their path down to his jaw.

' _Hiro … please don't fight me …'_ GoGo brooded to herself, tightening her hold on him just a little more. ' _This is the only thing I can think of to help …'_

With both pairs of brown eyes closed as GoGo and Hiro are leant up against one another, neither one noticed Honey glance back over her seat at the two. With her eyes wide open in surprise and her mouth slightly open, she pulled out her phone from within her suit. A few touches on her phone later, she aimed the camera on it over her shoulder and subtly took a silent photo of the two huddled up together, her flash turned off and her camera shutter silenced. Turning to the photo in her gallery and looking at it with an adoring face, she taps Wasabi on the shoulder and shows him the image. Wasabi looks stunned, his eyes going wide, before quickly looking over his shoulder at the two nestled together.

' _Oh, this is too good,_ ' Wasabi mused, smirking as his eyes gained a little mischievous glint. He went to open his mouth, looking to give the two a little tease, but Honey covered his mouth before he could say anything.

"Let them be," she mouthed, making sure what she was saying could be clearly understood despite not uttering any sound.

"Are we sure that's GoGo?" he mouthed back with a grin, causing her to stifle a laugh.

They both look over each other's shoulders, making sure that they hadn't attracted the attention of their two teammates. Seeing their eyes still closed and them unmoved, they took that as proof that they hadn't disturbed them just yet. As a precaution, however, they leant in closer to each other and whispered quietly.

"They are just too cute together," Honey breathed, a happy smile covering her face. "I feel like I need to take more photos of them."

"Maybe our little man has been growing up after all," Wasabi whispered back, watching the two as GoGo continued to stroke Hiro's shoulder. "Or is GoGo finally starting to break down?"

"I'm sure she's just worried about him. First Tadashi and now Baymax, one after the other," Honey replied quietly, her brief moment of uplifting cheerfulness replaced swiftly with a downcast expression as she mentioned the two close friends no longer with them. "Hiro's had so much to deal with in so little time. Still, they are adorable with each other like this."

"So … we leave them?"

Honey gives a small nod, looking down at the photo on her phone.

"I think GoGo knows what she's doing," Honey answered. "Or, at least, she hopes what she's doing is the right thing. She is a smart girl."

"I know that. It's just … she isn't really the affectionate type," Wasabi reasoned, looking once more at the two.

"It worked before, didn't it? In the garage?"

"I was a bit surprised she did that then as well."

"So was I … I wish I had a photo of that too …"

"You want them to get together, don't you?" Wasabi inquired with a smirk, looking down at Honey Lemon and the photo.

"It would be nice … I guess …"

* * *

After several minutes of flying, the group finally touch back down at Fred's family mansion. The slight but sudden jolt of the helicopter landing snapped both GoGo and Hiro out of their soothing moment, causing both to sit upright. GoGo's arms dropped rigidly to her side while Hiro's head shot up. Hiro looked out the window to his side before dropping his head onto his knees again. GoGo just sat still for a few seconds after the landing before looking back down at Hiro curled up in a ball again.

' _I … I hadn't realised how much time had passed,'_ GoGo noted, heat rising on her face as a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. ' _I-I must have gotten too caught up hu- no … no, I wasn't hugging Hiro that long … was I? Was I?'_

GoGo runs a hand through her hair, the blush on her cheeks growing a little more as she looks at Hiro, still miserable and beating himself up for what happened to Baymax and for letting some tears fall down his face. Wasabi and Honey both subtly look over their shoulder and smile when they see the speedster's flustered face, before Honey makes to open the door of the chopper. The whine of the helicopter blades spinning above starts to slow as Heathcliff powers it down.

"We have arrived," the butler announced with his usual emotionless expression, flicking off some of the switches above his head. "Please be careful upon exiting the aircraft."

"Hey, thanks, my man," Fred said, patting him on the shoulder as he opened up the co-pilot door.

"You're welcome, Master Frederick."

Fred stepped out of the cockpit as Honey managed to slide open the door, followed by Wasabi. The big green hero turned around to reach for the fist of Baymax, carefully pulling out the rocket fist from where he had stored it. In the meantime, both GoGo and Honey were looking at Hiro with worry as the robotics prodigy remained in his seat, either not registering that he could get out or simply too grief-stricken to want to leave. While Honey was already out and was just waiting for Hiro to exit the helicopter to check how he was feeling, GoGo actually needed him to hop out so that she could leave.

"Come on, Hiro …" Honey pleaded compassionately as she placed a hand on one of his legs, the soft touch making the young boy look at her. "Let's head inside and rest."

Hiro's damp, slightly reddened eyes showed he was still in pain, the gates to his soul filled with grief and sadness. Yet, when he looked at Honey, he saw her kind, sympathetic eyes looking back at him, a small caring smile joining them. Her gaze on him was soft and kind-hearted, showing her understanding of the misery he was feeling. With a long dismal sigh, Hiro unbuckled himself and jumped out of the helicopter, slowly walking over behind Wasabi and Fred to the mansion. As GoGo half-stepped out of the chopper, she put a hand on the door and leant around, staring at the retreating boy with a forlorn expression. Honey noticed this, but also shared the same countenance as she looked at the same boy.

"What are we going to do …?" Honey muttered.

"I don't know …" GoGo answered, shaking her head in remorse.

The two girls, with that question eating them up, took off after the boys, with Heathcliff coming up shortly afterwards having powered down the helicopter. Fred's family butler let the five friends into the mansion, crafted out of concrete, sandstone and limestone bricks, timber, double paned glass set into the windows, and marble pillars on the outside.

The heroes entered the building through a large windowed door, appearing in the main central room just like last time. They stood halfway up the flight of stairs at the back end of the room, a set of stairs adorned with bronze handrails and a vivid red rug running either side of them up to two green double doors. Regal red curtains hung on either side of the door they just walked through, while many large paintings covered the higher parts of the blazing orange wallpapered walls. On the bottom floor, as they had walked down before, were the two green wallpapered hallways they had travelled down last time they had arrived at Fred's family mansion. The chandelier hanging above them along with the lantern styled lights hanging on the walls either side of the group of friends gave the finishing touch to the room, adding a warm light and feeling to the space.

"I still can't grasp that this is your house," Honey remarked, spinning around slowly as she fully admired the space they were in.

"Would the Master and his companions be staying for the evening?" Heathcliff questioned, moving around the group before turning to face them with his expressionless composure.

"Uh … well, do you guys want to?" Fred asked, moving over to stand next to Heathcliff and putting a friendly arm around his shoulders. "We could have this really cool sleepover and everything-"

"I think we should," Wasabi answered, looking at the others. "Not because we should be having a sleepover, but if we are going to be staying low for a bit then we've got lots of room here."

"Not to mention it's probably safer if we all stay together," Honey added.

"Yeah, exactly," Fred responded with a grin. "There's plenty of space for everyone and then some! So, you're staying?"

"I think I will," Honey answered, raising her hand slightly.

"Same here," Wasabi replied.

Wasabi and Honey Lemon look towards GoGo and Hiro who were stood in front of them. Hiro had his head down with his left arm dangling by his side, his right hand holding onto it just above the thick glove. GoGo watched him heavy-heartedly, before looking up at Fred and Heathcliff with a soft sigh.

"I guess we are as well," she muttered, answering for them both.

Hiro glanced at her with an overwhelming sense of sadness swimming in his eyes which was caught by the adrenaline junkie. Her troubled gaze showing him her concern for him, Hiro dropped his head again feeling even worse now that he realised everyone else was being dragged down in the dumps because of his sorrow.

"Yes!" Fred exclaimed, jumping in a circle and throwing his hands in the air. "Sleepover!"

"Fred, calm down. Remember, we just had to deal with …" Honey trailed off, glancing down at Hiro uneasily.

There was an awkward silence between all of them, bringing their spirits plummeting down. Despite their attempts to be sincere and understanding, they all felt the hit of losing Baymax pretty hard. The soundless atmosphere engulfed them all, suffocating and drowning them in despair, seemingly lasting for hours. In reality, it only lasted for a minute, before Wasabi cut through it as he cleared his throat.

"Uh … m-maybe we should head into Fred's room?" he suggested, looking nervously at everyone else.

"Yeah … maybe that would be a good idea," Fred agreed, lacking his usual conviction.

Fred turned around and slowly walked down the stairs, turning at the base of the stairs and heading down the hallway to his right. Wasabi, Honey and GoGo sombrely follow along, but the speedster halts just before she walks down it when she hears Hiro speaking. Swinging her head around, she finds that it is Heathcliff he is talking to.

"Excuse me, Heathcliff?" he murmured quietly, though audible enough for both the butler and the adrenaline junkie to hear thanks to the quietness within the large room. "Which part of the house are the guest rooms?"

"They are in the door to your right, Master Hiro," Heathcliff replied formally, holding an arm out in the direction of the large green double doors up the stairs to Hiro's right. "Feel free to pick whichever one you wish."

"Thank you," the young boy mumbled, before turning and heading up the set of stairs, disappearing through the doors.

A hand went to GoGo's chest as her heart pulled and tugged greatly at the sign of despair from the robotics genius. Compassion, anxiety and worry filled her soul as she struggled within herself with what to do. Her instincts and her consciousness were screaming at her to run after him and hold him against her, keeping him close and letting him know that she would be there for as long as he needed her to be. But as she took a step forward to follow her instincts, her mind caught up with her, growing the conflict within her. When she stopped moving, a hand went to her head and her eyes closed, letting the struggle between her confused, stubborn mind and her impulsive, pining heart fight out. Her eyes shot open as the click of the doors closing echoed throughout the hall. With an uncertainty about the decision she just made as the way to him seemed to close against her for now, GoGo shook her head and went back on her original path, through the hallway towards Fred's room.

' _What the hell were you thinking?'_ GoGo chastised herself as she made her way down the hallway, breathing deeply. ' _Woman up, GoGo! Since when has this been you?'_

As the adrenaline junkie was about to enter through the mahogany steel sliding doors to Fred's room, she gave one last glance behind her, a final attempt from her heart to convince her to chase down Hiro.

' _I probably would have made things worse,'_ she deemed, her usual hot-headed, no nonsense personality trying to reconstruct itself by squashing down what was left of the resistance in her heart.

With a heavy sigh, she clapped her hands twice, opening and walking through the sliding doors. When she got in, she noticed the three others sitting down on the rounded couch. Fred was lazily lounged on his side over a fair section of the furniture, the section closest to her, having already turned on the TV and watching the breaking news stories of the aftermath of the Krei Tech attack. He had already taken off his combat suit and was now just in his normal clothes that he wore underneath, his baggy fainted red t-shirt with the Kaiju imprint over the chest, a plain white long sleeved shirt underneath, and baggy sage green cargo shorts, with his Kaiju suit discarded and laying on the floor by the side of the couch. Wasabi and Honey were still in their combat suits, conversing about something as they looked at something that was on her phone. When they noticed GoGo walk in they went quiet, Honey locking her phone and slowly putting it screen down on the table.

The speedster tossed her helmet to the side and walked up behind Fred, who hadn't noticed her enter the room yet. Her eyes narrowed sharply before she balled up her hands into fists. Bringing one up, she swung it down hard onto Fred's exposed shoulder.

"Ouch! Ow-ow!" he cried out as the impact hit hard, knocking him down off the couch and onto the floor. He rubbed the area that she hit him on before looking back at her. "What did I do to deserve that?"

"What was that out there?!" GoGo yelled at him, throwing her hand out to gesture at the door. "Could you have been any more insensitive to the situation?!"

Wasabi and Honey Lemon look at each other ludicrously, in no way expecting her to suddenly outburst the way she did, especially to Fred. It's true that she could get very easily annoyed with him and they've seen her have a go at him before. But neither of them were really sure what this particular outrage was about, which went double for Fred.

"What are you on about?" he asked, still rubbing his shoulder.

"You think it was such a fantastic idea to start being you again, acting as if nothing had happened today?!" she shouted back, storming around the couch and staring daggers at him. Despite being much shorter than Fred, GoGo's fury still made him back down, leaning back as she loomed over him. "You think that bringing up stupid things like sleepovers would make Hiro forget that he just lost the biggest connection he had left to his brother?!"

"Jeez, I'm sorry," he apologised, sitting down on the couch and dropping his hand from his shoulder. "I just thought that-"

"You thought?! You thought what?!" GoGo vociferated, glaring daggers down at the school mascot that caused him to shrink down even further, fearing what she may do to him.

"Hey … settle down, GoGo-" Wasabi interjected cautiously, getting up to his feet. However, when her deadly scowl was directed towards him, he quickly sat back down and raised his hands in a surrendering fashion.

"I'm sure Fred meant well," Honey reasoned, growing fearful as GoGo turned to her with venom in her eyes. "He probably did it to try and help Hiro."

"Yeah … th-that's what I was trying to do," Fred stammered, the adrenaline junkie spinning around to focus her attention back on him. "I-I figured that i-if we were all happy and there were more … you know, good vibes around Hiro, th-then it might help raise his spirits …"

"It's not a bad idea," Honey reasoned, bringing GoGo's attention back to her. However, this time, it contained a bit less bite and some puzzlement in her eyes. "Generally the feelings of others around someone can have an effect on how a person's emotions."

GoGo stood up straighter, her head moving from Fred, to Honey, to Wasabi, and back again through the cycle. This continued a few times, the rage within her seeming to dissipate a little more each time her gaze moved to a different person, the negative fury being replaced with some confusion, realisation and a hint of embarrassment. After a little while, with a growl, she turned around and stormed off, heading towards the door.

"I need to go for a ride," she huffed, picking her discarded helmet off the floor before walking out of the sliding doors that are tiger orange and periwinkle blue on this side. The three remaining in the room just stare in her direction as the sliding doors close, before turning to look at each other.

"Uh … am I the only who thought that was way too much anger, even for her?" Fred questioned, looking at both Honey and Wasabi. The slicing of air catches their attention as they all look out the window in Fred's room to see GoGo zip past in her combat suit, skating along extremely quickly on her maglev discs as she weaves through the garden and circles the house.

"This might explain it," Honey said after a few seconds, unlocking her phone and sliding it across the table to Fred.

Fred picks up the phone and looks at the screen, his eyes widening as he looks at the photo Honey took on the helicopter. Eventually, his jaw drops the longer he looks at the image, his eyes darting up between the picture and the other two people in the room.

"This … is Gogo?" he managed to utter, the usually boisterous man having great difficulty in processing the image. "Are we sure that's really her?"

"That's what I said on the helicopter," Wasabi pointed out. "I think that outburst would have proven that."

"True, true," Fred acknowledged, putting a hand over his chin as he still looks a little confused. "And she resorted to her frustrations because … because …?"

"Well, obviously she's very concerned about how Hiro is handling everything," Honey answered, responding to Fred's questioning look.

" _Very_ concerned," Wasabi stressed, adding in his input.

"Plus she's probably really confused about her being so focused on Hiro's wellbeing," Honey continued.

"Because she normally wouldn't be troubled by other people and their lives?" Fred queried.

"That's probably right," Wasabi confirmed.

"And she'll also be feeling angry because of her confusion," Honey added. "She's normally so strong-willed and sure of herself that not being able to identify what's going on within her is making her really frustrated. With you doing something she normally wouldn't originally think of to help out, that probably also set her off."

"She didn't think I was taking Hiro's pain seriously?" Fred inquired.

"Probably not. So, she's more than likely going for that ride to clear her mind and vent some of her anger out. It's not anything against you personally."

"Oh, thank goodness," Fred exclaimed in relief, slumping back down against the couch. "I was afraid I would have to keep looking over my shoulder for the rest of my time around her, just in case she would try to take my head off."

"Might be a good idea for us all to keep in mind," Wasabi joked. "She's quite scary, even in a typically good mood."

"True that, man," Fred sighed as they turned to look out the window again, watching as GoGo makes another pass around the house at high velocity.

* * *

GoGo spent the next hour speeding around the mansion, zipping in and out between the hedges and statues outside the building. The quicker she flew along her path, the greater the adrenaline that pumped through her body, and the clearer she was able to think. The faster she skated through the garden, her mind seemed to be able to look at the thoughts clouding her mind as they moved similarly to being in slow motion. She was able to vent her frustrations out, getting rid of a lot of the annoyance she had towards herself. In doing so, the confusion she felt also began to deplete.

Sliding to a stop right in front of the front entrance, leaving a large skid mark across the paved tiles that lead around the house, GoGo flipped her visor up and took in a deep breath, a little puffed from her long skate at high speeds. Taking off her helmet, she blew out a bubble with the bubblegum in her mouth, popping it with her teeth as she removed the two maglev discs attached to her feet before walking back inside the mansion.

' _Okay … first, I should probably apologise to Fred,'_ GoGo listed as she walked into the large entrance hall, looking down the hallway to her left that lead to Fred's room. ' _Second, see if there's anything we need to organise. I presume someone should let Cass know that Hiro won't be home tonight.'_

With that second thought, her eyes drifted over to the dark green double doors that Hiro disappeared through over an hour ago.

' _And third, go check up on my friend.'_

With that, the adrenaline junkie walked down the green hallway leading to Fred's room. Her mind was still a clutter of thoughts and feelings, it just was not overflowing and heated like before. She still felt confused over her increased concern and compassion for the Hamada boy, not being used to this overwhelming sense of sensitivity and sentimentality for an individual. Because she was still confused, she obviously still felt a sincere affection and for the robotics prodigy. GoGo was also still frustrated as well, though mainly for a different reason.

' _And I'm still not fast enough.'_

When GoGo returned to Fred's room, the sight was slightly different to what she had encountered on her way out. Wasabi and Honey had changed out of their combat suits and into the clothes they had brought over beforehand. Honey was now dressed in a canary yellow cardigan, a 60s style lemon yellow shift dress, blush pink leggings, yellow platform high heels and orange frilly socks. She now has a bright yellow headband, while her pink rimmed glasses have also returned. Wasabi had changed into his fern green jumper, with a white t-shirt underneath, black trousers and black jikatabi shoes, with his yellow and white woven headband over his hair line. Both their superhero suits seemed to be neatly packed away into large sports bags, while Fred's still appeared to be lying on the ground where it was earlier.

As GoGo walked over to them, Honey was busy scribbling into a notebook, her eyes full of concentration and creativity. Wasabi also had a notebook in his hands and he seemed to be meticulously listing certain things within the book. Fred had his full attention directed on the TV as a Japanese Kaiju film blares out from the screen.

"So … what'cha guys up to?" GoGo questions casually, making them all jump at the sound of her voice.

Honey and Wasabi both quickly put their notebooks down on the table, their pens resting on top. Fred flounders around, looking for the remote for the TV. Eventually he manages to push himself off the couch again, sending him crashing to the hard floor. While groaning in his new position, he managed to sit up and started flinging the cushions he was sitting on all over the room. He finally managed to find the remote and hastily pointed it at the TV, muting the noise coming out from it. Once the TV had finally been silenced, Fred, Honey and Wasabi all looked towards GoGo, the speedster wearing an amused expression on her face.

"You know you didn't have to do that, right?"

With a groan Fred drops his head, his skull bouncing off of the now displaced cushions.

"Why couldn't you have said that before I went to all that trouble?" he moaned, his voice muffled by the couch.

"How are you feeling, GoGo?" Honey asked, placing her hands in her lap.

"I'm better now," GoGo replied, walking around and, fixing up some of the cushions Fred had flung over, sitting down on the curved couch. "So … what did you all do while I was outside?"

"Not too much," Wasabi answered, stretching his arms out wide. "We came up with a bit of a list of things we should deal with, but that should probably be looked at later. Heathcliff also brought in our clothes that we left here when we changed into our suits."

"Are mine here?"

"Yeah, they're in the purple bag over by the door," Fred responded, lifting up an arm and pointing towards the doors of his room despite not raising his head to look. "You can get changed in one of the guest rooms upstairs, if you want."

Sure enough, GoGo could see as she looked over her shoulder that there was a large purple sports gear bag sitting by the sliding doors, with an identical black bag on the other side.

"The other bag …?"

"Hiro's," Honey replied.

"Has he come down at all?" GoGo inquired, looking back at the trio.

"Not that any of us have noticed," Wasabi answered, giving a side look to the other two.

"Heathcliff hasn't seen him come down either," Fred added, keeping his head down. "I checked when he brought in the clothes, which was roughly ten minutes ago."

GoGo looked down at Fred with a blank stare, tilting her head slightly. Fred shifted his head slightly off centre and peeped with one blue eye to try and get a quick glance at her expression. When he noticed that she was looking straight at him during his glance, his eye went wide open in panic before shutting tight, shifting his head back again so his face was buried within the cushions beneath him. The ghost of a smile crosses GoGo's pink lips as she let out an amused breath.

"Woman up, Fred," she stated, which managed to get Fred to bring his head up slightly to look at her.

"Listen, GoGo … I'm sorry for-"

"No, I'm the one that needs to apologise," the adrenaline junkie cuts in, surprising the trio in front of her.

"Uh … what did you say?" Fred asked, looking extremely confused. Honey and Wasabi share surprised looks of their own before looking back to Fred and GoGo.

"I need to apologise for snapping at you earlier. I was just tired and annoyed with what had happened earlier today. I shouldn't have directed it at you," GoGo explained seriously, giving him an honest look that still scared him a little. "Is it that hard to believe that I'm saying sorry?"

"Uh … k-kinda …"

"Would you rather I hit you again?"

"No, no, no!" Fred exclaimed, waving his hands frantically in front of him. "I-I'll take the apology. Apology accepted!"

"Relax, knucklehead," GoGo smiled, shaking her head in amusement. "I was just joking."

"N-Nice to know ..." Fred stammered, looking both frightened and stunned at Honey and Wasabi. The older duo returned him looks that showed they weren't too sure what was happening either, before they all watched as GoGo stood up and walked over to the door, picking up both Hiro's and her bags.

"Well, I'm going to go get changed," she announced, looking back over her shoulder at the trio with a bag in each hand.

"And give Hiro his clothes?" Honey queried, which was answered by a nod from the speedster.

"I want to go check up on him," she justified, her voice softening a great deal as the doors opened up. She made to step through before hesitating, suddenly remembering something.

"Would one of you be able to let Cass know that he won't be home tonight?" she requested, turning her body to face them.

"I let her know earlier when you were outside," Honey answered, with nods from both Wasabi and Fred. "I just told her that we all had a pretty big day and decided to stay over at Fred's because it was closest. I didn't let her know what we actually did today."

"Okay, good," GoGo said, turning back towards the hallway. "Thank you."

The adrenaline junkie started walking down the hallway, leaving Wasabi, Honey and Fred to stare at each other in complete and utter bemusement as the doors slide shut behind her.

* * *

GoGo almost broke into a jog as she quickened her pace, moving through the hallway and up the stairs to the green double doors. Taking a small breath, she pushed her way through, the large doors slowly and heavily swinging wide at her pressure. Welcoming her was another long, tall corridor, warm fire yellow paint that looked alive and swirling covering the walls. Six doors lines each side of the hallway, three white and three mahogany. The doors weren't symmetrical in terms of positioning, but they were consistently placed, the gap from a mahogany door to a white door being the same size, and vice versa. They were also placed so that the different colours would be opposite on the other side of the corridor, with a knocker on each door. White arched door frames inspired by ancient Roman design surrounded the doors, with a double door frame taking up the opposite end to the corridor, a mahogany double door standing in it. A chandelier hung down from the ceiling, with torch styled lights decorating the walls and adding to the warmth the fiery yellow walls already provided, and another family portrait hanging above the double doors opposite GoGo.

The speedster started moving down the corridor, her head spinning around as she took in the space around her. Looking down the hallway, she noticed one of the mahogany doors to her right creaked slightly ajar, slightly flickering, warm light spilling out from the tiny opening. Before heading through the door to check if her suspicions were right, she walked through the white door opposite.

Behind the white door, as was the case for all the white doors, was a luxurious, reasonably large, bathroom. White ceramic tiles covered the floor in a diamond shape. On the right side of the room which the door swung open towards, a rounded shower sat in behind were the door would stop. The stainless steel shower head was square shaped and quite large, the water would fully cover GoGo if she was stood underneath. The base of the shower curved up slightly, designed to stop water from spilling out over the rest of the bathroom. A toilet had been placed in the far right corner, facing the shower, with a small wooden wall that concealed the toilet and most of the person sitting on it. Next to the toilet was a very large, deep bath that doubled as a spa. It was so large that even Wasabi and Baymax could lie down and have heaps of room left. Finally, the sink was built into the left wall near the door, a light shining above it, with a storage cupboard accessible behind the mirror. An automatic liquid soap dispenser sat above the sink basin, with a towel rack beside it and, for some reason, a plastic potted palm tree in the near left corner.

' _Well, that explains the spacing between the doors,'_ GoGo remarked, looking surprised by the lush layout and contents in the bathroom.

Closing the door behind her as she backed out, the adrenaline junkie turned around to face the slightly ajar door opposite her. She walked up to it with the intention of using the knocker, before noises coming from behind the door grabbed her attention. GoGo crouched down, pressing her ear up against the door gently as to not push the door out. Furrowing her brow, she initially identified what sounded to be a TV in the room, the muffled words impossible to make out individually but it sounded like a news report. Satisfied, she made to knock on the door, but stopped when she heard something else through the door, something that didn't sound like a news report. Sniffling and sobbing managed to makes its way to GoGo, causing the speedster's eyes to open wide with realisation and heartache. Without a second thought, she pushed open the door and stepped into the guest room, her heart overpowering her mind.

The guest room was as lavish as the rest of the house appeared to be, while being just smaller than Fred's room was. Vivid tiger orange paint covered the walls, the odd swirling brush stroke like in the hallway making it seem to move and come alive in the light shone by the chandelier hanging in the centre of the room. On the wall opposite her were two large arched windows, with the same regal red curtains as the rest of the house. On the right side of the room with her stood some wardrobes, cupboards and a bookcase full of different texts, while on the far left was the entertainment system. The TV, a large 60' plasma screen, hung from the wall, while on a small storage unit below was a DVD player and a few speakers, with space for other entertainment devices. A small round glass coffee table sat in front of the TV, with a couple of black leather skinned chairs on either side. A couple of coat hangers covered the wall next to the speedster, with an air conditioner built into the top of the wall and another table, made of stained wood, pushed into the corner.

Finally, a queen sized bed was sat in roughly the centre of the room, the bed headboard pushed up against the far wall in between the two arched windows. The doona was a golden background with white leaves and branches spreading across the whole cover, the design shared on two of the four pillows resting against the headboard, the other two being pure white. A bedside table sat on either side of the bed, each with an empty glass sitting on a coaster, a digital alarm clock and a bronze bedside lamp, while the one furthest away from her had the TV remote sitting on it.

Sitting on the bed, curled up in a ball with his arms wrapped around his legs, was the source of the sniffling and sobbing GoGo could hear through the door. Hiro had his head lying on his knees, his helmet having been discarded and thrown to the side, crying into them as he could no longer hold the negative emotions bottled up. Upon seeing him so distraught, GoGo flung both sports bags down onto the floor, shut the door behind her, and ran over, crouching in front of the youth.

"Hiro …" she said softly, his head rising up slightly as she took one of his hands in her own.

GoGo's heart pulled as she noticed his eyes reddened and swollen from weeping. Reaching over, she grabbed the TV remote and turned it off as Hiro dropped his head back on his knees.

"You shouldn't have that on if it's only going to make you feel worse."

"Sh-shouldn't y-you be telling m-me to w-woman up or something?" Hiro blubbered, trying to control and stop his tears now that someone else was around.

' _I-It j-just had to be GoGo who came in …'_

GoGo let out a sad chuckle, smiling softly and shaking her head as she sat down on the bed next to the robotics prodigy. Like on the helicopter, she pulled the boy in towards her and wrapped her arm around him.

"Do you really think that would help now?" she asked, a hand going to his cheeks and wiping his tears away, leaving smeared tear marks in their place. "I didn't say it in the message the others and I sent from school, did I?"

' _W-What m-message?'_ Hiro reflected, trying to think back. ' _W-We've been h-here the … O-Oh … th-that message …'_

"You didn't watch our message?" the speedster questioned gently, judging from his silence, her voice soft and caring.

"N-No, no … I did …" he whispered, trying to press his head further into his knees. "I-It's just …"

"… you stopped it before I spoke," GoGo finished for him, a little saddened as he confirmed it with a nod.

"I-I'm sorry …" he apologized as his voice cut out, clenching his eyes tighter as more tears streamed down his face.

"It's alright, Hiro," she whispered, wrapping both arms around Hiro and resting her head against his, closing her eyes. "It doesn't matter now …"

Hiro opened his eyes slightly, looking at the girl who was holding him against her. The feeling of having her embracing him this way, despite both being in their combat suits, sent an unexpectedly affectionate warmth spreading through his body, a small light growing as it spread through the chilly depths his depression had him drowning in. He turned his body to fully lean into her, embracing her back as his arms enveloped her and resting his head on her chest. GoGo, opening her eyes slightly as she was caught off-guard by the boy returning her hug, readjusted her position. She put her head on top of his, a small blush spreading on her cheeks as the youth hugged her, and held him tighter against her.

"I-It's all my f-fault," Hiro whimpered timidly. "I-If I wasn't s-so weak-"

"Don't beat yourself up," she murmured gently, sighing and rubbing his back. "You're not weak for crying over this."

She pulled herself back and lowered her head, looking at his face. Feeling her gaze on him, he apprehensively looked up at her, seeing her small smile and caring eyes, before lowering his head to look at the bed covers.

"I … uh … I'm going to go get changed out of this," GoGo explained, gesturing at her combat suit. "O … O-Okay?"

She stammered and turned her head away slightly, looking down as a thought came to her. When she looked back at Hiro, she noticed him giving her a tiny nod to show he understood. She made to get off the bed but hesitated, her mind struggling against her heart again. Making her decision, she ruffled his hair slightly and, brushing it out of the way, planted a small kiss on his forehead. Hiro's head shot up in total surprise as her hand backed away, the soft touch of her lips against his skin almost tingling as it seemed to linger. He looked at GoGo who had turned away from him, looking down at the ground in what appeared to be embarrassment to the young boy.

' _W-Wait … th-this is GoGo …'_ he reminded himself, looking down at his legs as a slight blush began to spread along his cheeks as well. ' _There's no way that she would be embarrassed … She's too strong to be embarrassed … She did kiss you, though … even though it was on the head …'_

"I … I-I'll just be a f-few minutes …" she faltered, facing away from the boy as she felt her face getting redder and redder by the second.

Getting up, she very nearly breaks out into a run as she struggles between trying to get out of the room as quickly as she could and trying to make it appear that nothing was wrong with her. She picks up her purple bag and opens up the door, half-stepping outside before glancing behind at the youth. When she found him looking back at her, her breath caught in her mouth and her body stiffened before willing herself outside, nearly pulling the door of its hinges as she closed it.

' _Then again … I've been wrong before …'_

As she pulled the door shut, Gogo swore she could hear the sound of scampering in the hallway. Her head snapping around and looking frantically along the corridor, she couldn't see anything that appeared out of place nor any doors that had been left ajar. Jotting it down to both a possibility of Hiro moving in his room and her mind playing tricks on her, she quickly darts into the bathroom opposite and slams the door shut behind her.

The adrenaline junkie let out a loud sigh when she was finally alone, slumping against the door and sliding down it as her bag dropped to the tiled floor. Her heart pounded within her as she moved over to the sink, her heart racing in her chest as she looked at her flustered reflection, the blood building up heavily in her blushing cheeks. She quickly turned on the cold water and, cupping her hands under the tap, splashed it all over her face as she tried to cool down.

"W-What did I-I do?" she asked herself aloud, looking at the mirror and her face now dripping with water. "W-What did I just do?!"

' _You kissed him, you idiot!'_ her mind shouted back at her, the speedster mostly feeling discombobulated by the development of recent events. ' _You played on instinct and your heart told you to kiss him!'_

"I … I was just trying to comfort him …" she told herself, reaching down and splashing more water over her face.

' _How does kissing him comfort him?!'_

"I-I know … I know it's something th-that parents do …" she said as she filled her cupped hands with more water, bringing them up and drinking the cool liquid.

' _So, what? You're his mother now?'_

"N-No! That's not what I meant!" she fretted, grabbing a hand towel near the basin and drying her damp face with it. When she was finished, she put the towel back and took a few deep breathes, trying to calm herself back down.

"He was beating himself up … He-he was really upset," the adrenaline junkie commented, looking back in the mirror as she spoke and noticing her face slightly less reddened. "I was just trying to show that I was there for him …"

With a sigh, the thumping of her heart in her chest slowing down and becoming less impactful, she walked back over to the door, getting her clothes out of the bag. It barely took any time for her to take off her combat and thermal suits, and put on her bare knuckle gloves, purple and black ripped leggings, black with red line shorts over the leggings, and white tank top. She opted to leave her small grey leather jacket in the bag, instead just putting it on top after packing her combat suit in underneath. Going back to the mirror, she took a couple more minutes to compose herself, waiting until she had calmed down a bit more and that her cheeks were no longer red like a tomato. Once she was sure she was ready, she picked up the purple sports bag and opened the bathroom door, closing it and waiting by Hiro's door.

' _I warned you you'd probably make things worse,'_ her mind told her as she reached out for the doorknob, gripping it tightly at the thought.

"I don't care anymore," she whispered to herself through gritted teeth. "I need to do this."

Twisting the doorknob and pushing the door open, the adrenaline junkie walked through into the guest room. She gently put her bag down on the ground before looking at the bed. Hiro had moved from his sitting position and was now lying down on the bed, his arms wrapped around himself. Her stomach twisted up in a knot at the sight, her concern not leaving her as she walked over to the bed and put a hand on him. Hiro hadn't fallen asleep, instead just choosing to lie glumly on the bed in his sorrow.

"Maybe we should take this armour off first before you go lying down on anything," she whispered gently to him, the boy giving her no response.

With a sigh, GoGo set about slowly and carefully removing the armour he had on, the robotics prodigy giving her no resistance as she did so. She first removed his magnetic sneakers, followed by the kneepads on his kneecaps.

"I-It's all my fault …" Hiro murmured to GoGo as she started to take off his gloves one by one, his damp cheeks glistening from the tears he had cried out before. "I-If I h-had kept paying a-attention, Baymax wo … he wouldn't have needed to sacrifice himself …"

"Shhh … you didn't know that was going to happen …" she whispered back, running a hand through his hair. "It wasn't your fault-"

"I was navigating him through the debris …" Hiro continued on like he hadn't heard the girl in front of him as she now started to work on taking off his chest piece. "I … I turned away …"

"Hiro …"

"And if I hadn't made those stupid microbots, none of this would have happened," Hiro finished, shutting his eyes tightly as he gave something between a growl and a sob. "They … they might still be here …"

"There's no telling what might have happened if you hadn't made the microbots," GoGo reasoned as she took off the last of his armour, leaving him in his long sleeved black thermal shirt and trousers. "Maybe … maybe Callaghan would have still gone after Krei with someone else's tech. Maybe things would have played out the same … maybe it would be different. No one can no."

Hiro looks at GoGo with teary eyes as she says that, putting a hand on his arm. Knowing that she was right, he clenched his eyes tight and buried his head into the bed covers, not really wanting to believe that things could still have been the same.

Crestfallen when it appeared that Hiro didn't really want to accept it, still shouldering the blame he believed he deserved to be placed with, GoGo got up on the bed and crawled over, lying down next to him. She inched over next to him and embraced him tightly, blushing a little again at her actions.

' _Screw it … He needs me to do this,'_ she told herself, resting her head on one of the golden pillows.

Hiro forced her to loosen her grasp on him slightly as he pushed out his arms, making room for him to turn his body around to face her. Once he finished moving, she closed her embrace on him again, sharing her warmth with him.

"W-Why …? GoGo, w-why are-"

"Hiro, none of this is your fault," she whispered to him, looking at his eyes as he starts to tear up again. "The guys downstairs would all tell you the same thing if you asked them. Bad things may have happened, and you're allowed to cry over that. We all are feeling upset over this, and we're all here together. But don't shoulder it all on your own. You're not the one to blame for everything bad that's happened."

His mouth trembling, Hiro hugged GoGo back tightly and buried his face into her, sniffling as he tried to fight back the tears that threatened to break out again. GoGo just kept trying to soothe him, shushing him as she rubbed his back delicately and gently, while putting her other hand on the back of his head and stroking it gently.

"I'll be here for you, Hiro," she whispered softly, her heart pounding a little louder as the thought of tearing up also came to her before she shook it off. "I'll be here for as long as you need me."

For several minutes they lay together in complete silence, save for the sniffles produced by Hiro and the soothing reassurances from GoGo. After some time, Hiro's sniffling seemed to come to a stop as his breathing evened out. Looking at him through eyes that were slightly opened, GoGo realised that the robotics prodigy had managed to fall asleep as they held on to one another. With a content sigh, a slight rosy tint on her cheeks and a smile on her face, Gogo too let her eyes close as she lay beside the boy, soon peacefully drifting off to her own dreams as well. Both friends fell asleep, then and there, in each other's embrace as together they struggled to deal with the events of that day.

Peacefully they slept together, wearied and saddened by their ordeals throughout the day, through the rest of the afternoon and well into the night.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that certainly was something, wasn't it?**

 **Firstly, I'd like to point out that this is actually a shortened version of the chapter. By that, I mean there was a couple more scenes I wanted to add to this chapter but, because of the length, I've decided to move them over to the second chapter. By the way, this is only meant to be a two chapter fic. Yeah, I write big no matter how many chapters I'm determined to write.**

 **Secondly, as my AN at the top probably should have pointed out, I originally didn't plan for GoGo to kiss Hiro on the head. Or at all, rather. But, the thought came to me as I was typing this chapter up and it felt like a really good idea (plus a good way to really work a few people up and emphasize the impact on them both), so I put it in. Hopefully, it has helped to enhance the impact that I'm hoping this will have, plus moved things along a little as well.**

 **Thirdly, despite being my first story for this fandom, this isn't going to be the big one I write for it (or the first big one I write, depending on how you want to look at it). This is moreso a taste for both you guys and gals, and me. For me, it gives me a better idea on what you all seem to like and the vibe that you all tend to enjoy. For you all, it lets you see how I like to write and gives you a 'little' taste on my style. Hopefully, you all like it so far. The story that I am hoping to do, probably in a few weeks time when mid-year holidays start for me though it could very well be sooner (I'm Australian, by the way), should be called 'Battle in San Fransokyo', but that could change. More on that closer to updating.**

 **Finally, I'm hoping - repeat: _hoping_ that the next chapter will be ready to upload in a few days time. Hopefully you won't be kept waiting too long. **

**Please fav or follow if you enjoy this, let me know your thoughts through review or PM (whichever works for you). Constructive criticism is always welcome as I'm still looking to improve. Alternatively, if you'd like my help or just want some information, don't hesitate to ask. I'm always happy to help.**

 **Next chapter: Planning Ahead**

 **Until next time, I bid you all a fond farewell!**


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